Protecting Nonprofit Rights

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Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

  UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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New Study Re-Examines Charitable Giving in the States

Nov 17, 2005 by Guest Blogger

A new study by Boston College shows that states that previously reported to lag behind the nation in charitable giving actually have higher generosity levels than those indicated by a widely-touted annual index. The study, conducted by researchers at the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, recalculates giving levels which since 1997 had been annually evaluated by the Generosity Index, a widely used list that ranks all 50 states according to how much local residents give to charity, published by the Catalogue for Philanthropy. For more information, or to read the study, click here

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Rep. Cardin Testifies to Importance of Music Deduction at He

Nov 17, 2005 by Guest Blogger

II. Artists’ Contribution to American Heritage Act of 2005 (H.R. 1120) —

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Revised Treasury Guidelines for Charities Out Next Wed.

Nov 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

FYI- Keep your eye out for new developments on the anti-terror financing front. The Treasury Department has said that revised "Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-based Charities" will be posted on the Treasury Department website by next Wednesday, 11/23.

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New CFC Rule Does Not Mandate List Checking or Compliance with Treasury Guidelines

On November 7, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) withdrew a regulation that required all nonprofits participating in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the federal government's workplace charitable giving program, to screen employees and donation recipients for possible terrorist ties. The new final rule, which applies to 2006 CFC applicants, requires participating charities instead to certify that they are in compliance with existing anti-terrorist financing laws.

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House Rejects Bi-Partisan Effort to Shield Internet from Campaign Finance Laws

In a surprising vote, the House rejected a bipartisan effort to shield online communications from the strictures of campaign finance reform laws.

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Oral Arguments Held in Case Challenging Advocacy Restrictions on Legal Services Programs

Litigation challenging the constitutionality of limitations on the advocacy rights of government-funded nonprofit legal services groups advanced recently with oral arguments before a federal appeals court. On Nov. 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard oral argument in Velazquez v. Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a lawsuit brought on behalf of a coalition of lawyers, indigent clients and New York City officeholders, arguing the government has no business regulating the privately funded, constitutionally protected activities of legal service programs.

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IRS Audits Church for Anti-War Sermon

The pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA announced earlier this week that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is conducting a formal examination of the church's tax-exempt status, due to an anti-war, anti-poverty sermon delivered two days before the 2004 presidential election. Conservative and liberal religious organizations alike have criticized the IRS action, which they see as further evidence of an emerging trend -- beginning with last year's audit of the NAACP -- to treat criticism of incumbents on issues as partisan electoral activity.

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Final Rule on Anti-Terrorist Certification for Charities Is Just First Step

Washington, DC (November 11, 2005)--The Office of Personnel Management withdrew a regulation this week that required nonprofits participating in the Combined Federal Campaign--the federal government's workplace charitable giving program--to screen employees and donation recipients for possible terrorist ties. The new final rule, which applies to 2006 CFC applicants, instead requires participating charities to certify that they are in compliance with existing anti-terrorist financing laws.

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Report Finds Anti-Terrorism Policies Hurt Charities

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, federal measures intended to cut off terrorism funding have imposed undue burdens on the nonprofit sector, according to a report released at the end of last month. The report from OMB Watch, a nonprofit research and advocacy group, entitled 'Safeguarding Charity in the War on Terror,' addresses anti-terrorist financing regulations and guidelines that, according to the report, "lack a basic understanding of how nonprofits function, and ultimately do not help -- and may even hinder -- the global war on terror."

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CFC Issues Final Rule on Anti-Terrorism Certification

Nov 8, 2005 by Kay Guinane

The Combined Federal Campaign has released its final rule for anti-terrorist certifications for charities applying to participate in the program in the upcoming year. The new rule requires a general certification of compliance with anti-terrorism financing laws, but does not make checking employees’ names against government watch lists mandatory. The nonprofit sector has scored an important victory in this case. Details will follow soon, after we have completed a thorough review of the final rule. The final rule is online here

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Large chemical companies a...

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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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